Injury Control & Violence House Republican Appropriators don’t think coal miners need protection from black lung disease
September 30, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 6Comment

Congressman Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and his Republican members of the House Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the Labor Department don’t think coal miner deserve better protection from black lung disease. In their FY 2012 appopriations bill they would prohibit the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from using any funds to develop, promulgate, enforce or […]

Read More
Environmental Health Beware of Congressmen who claim they are cutting red tape, health and safety protections are on the chopping block
September 26, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 1Comment

Funny how a bill touted by Members of Congress as one that will “cut red tape” will actually add a dozen new steps before a rule to protect people’s health or safety is put in place. Last week, several Republican and Democratic Senators and Representatives did just that when they introduced the “Regulatory Accountability Act” […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence Teenage workers lose legs at work, their employer didn’t have workers’ comp insurance
September 16, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 13Comment

[Update (10/11/2011) below] Phyllis Zorn of the Enid (OK) News and Eagle reports that the employer of the two teenage workers who lost legs last month in a grain auger failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. She writes: “Oklahoma Department of Labor has fined the company $750 for failing to comply with workers’ compensation law, […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence A peek at health and safety for temporary workers
September 13, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

March 2, 2011 may have seemed like any other workday for David Clark Jr., 51, when he arrived at the Lee Creek potash mine in Aurora, NC at 5:50 am to start his shift. Clark and a small crew would be excavating a large ditch near the R9 roadway and burying a 22-inch diameter polyethylene […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence New rules proposed to protect minors working in agriculture
September 8, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 5Comment

After two teenagers’ legs were severed while they were working near a grain auger, I wrote last month about the White House’s role in holding up a proposed Labor Department rule to address hazards for young workers. After a 9-month delay by the White House, the Labor Department released the proposed rule last week and […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence Legs of two 17 year olds severed in grain auger, White House sits on young worker safety rule
August 11, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 2Comment

[Update 8/15/2011 below] Tyler Zander, 17 and Bryce Gannon, 17 were working together on Thursday, August 4 at the Zaloudek Grain Co. in Kremlin, Oklahoma. They were operating a large floor grain aguer when something went terribly wrong. Oklahoma’s News9.com reports that Bryce Gannon’s legs became trapped in the auger, Tyler Zander went to his […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence Worker fatality in my hometown, the story before the story
August 5, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

Earlier this week, I reported on the death of Margarito Guardado Resinos, 34, at a construction project in my hometown of San Marcos, TX. Mr. Resinos employer, Jetka Steel Erectors, had been inspected by OSHA in December 2010, at a different construction site, and received citations in May 2011 for four serious violations of safety […]

Read More
Injury Control & Violence Fatal worker injury in my hometown
August 3, 2011 Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH 3Comment

Margarito Guardado Resinos, 34, and Nelson Pineda were working together to erect a pre-engineered steel building frame at a construction site in San Marcos, TX. The two were employed by Jetka Steel Erectors of Katy, TX, a firm hired by Bailey Elliot Construction of Austin to erect a new building for Thermon Manufacturing at the […]

Read More